Young people could lose benefits if they refuse to work, says pension minister December 7, 2025 Young people on benefits will be offered fresh job opportunities in sectors including construction and hospitality as part of the government’s bid to tackle rising youth unemployment, with those who refuse to engage at risk of losing their benefits. The government will fund 350,000 training and work experience placements, as well as guarantee 55,000 jobs [...]
Recruiters suffer from sharp slowdown in permanent hiring December 7, 2025 Recruiters suffered a sharp slowdown in setting up permanent placements for job seekers in 2024, with an industry group suggesting the number of positions had fallen by more than a third compared to 2023. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said the UK economy’s lacklustre performance in recent years had hit businesses seen as essential [...]
Salary sacrifice: Millions of pension savers impacted by overhaul December 5, 2025 Millions of UK pension savers are set to be hit by salary sacrifice changes unveiled in the Budget, according to new figures. According to figures published by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), an estimated 7.7m employees use salary sacrifice to make pension contributions. This means employees effectively take a pay cut in exchange for higher [...]
Bank of England decision to cut interest rates could be ‘closer call’ December 5, 2025 The Bank of England’s expected decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points could be a “closer call” than markets predict, analysts have said. Markets have all but priced in interest rates falling to 3.75 per cent at the Bank’s next decision in mid-December after a flurry of data points pointed to a continued [...]
Labour minister: Life is s**t for young people December 5, 2025 A Labour minister has offered a candid assessment of life in the UK in reaction to a news story about the costs associated with housing and raising children. In a post on X, Josh Simons, the parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office who co-founded the Labour Growth Group, said life for young adults wanting to [...]
Visa shifts European HQ to Canary Wharf December 5, 2025 Payments juggernaut Visa is set to switch its European headquarters to Canary Wharf – hot on the heels of banking behemoth JP Morgan. The move from its current spot in Paddington comes amid a major resurgence in the London financial hub after a number of big firms snapped up offices in the district. Visa will [...]
Bank of England: Businesses cut staff at fastest pace since pandemic December 5, 2025 British businesses cut jobs at the fastest rate since the pandemic in the run-up to Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget. A closely-watched survey from the Bank of England, which quizzes finance directors on their staffing levels, showed employment in the private sector fell by 1.8 per cent in November – the steepest monthly decline since July [...]
Trustpilot shares rebound after short seller attacks ‘mafia-style’ practices December 5, 2025 Consumer review website Trustpilot has seen its share price rebound after being forced to deny allegations from a US short-selling firm that likened its business model to a ‘mafia-style extortion racket’. Shares rose 9.7 per cent in early morning trading to 141.8p, bouncing back after £200m was wiped off the company’s market value yesterday following [...]
House prices hit record high but overall growth slows December 5, 2025 UK house prices reached a record high in November, however overall growth slowed to the weakest rate since 2024 according to the latest data from Halifax’s house price index. Prices were broadly unchanged last month, edging up £138, bringing the average house price to £299,892, a new record high. This follows a 0.5 per cent [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Unilever demerger; House prices hit record high December 5, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Autumn Budget started nearly an hour earlier than expected on 26 November after the fiscal watchdog leaked its forecasts for the UK and with it all the Labour government’s economic policy for the next year. But start as you mean to end rings true [...]